Hot Duck

I am not sure. I am looking at some possibilities and doing some homework, but I have not made any commitments as of yet. I am a little worried about the 450 towing the weight of the Apache. I have no doubt that it will do it, but I am not sure if it will do it legally. I had always thought that the max trailer weight for the truck was 21K pounds (gooseneck/5th wheel), but I saw in the owner's manual 2 weeks ago that it is only 17,200 lbs. The Ford Fleet website says 21K, but the owner's manual in my truck says 17,200. So, I called the local dealership to see if the manual was a misprint or if the web site was incorrect. The dealership is "still looking into it." If they can't get an answer in the next day or two I'll try to go directly to Ford.

If it is actually 21K, we can manage that. If it is 17,200 we will need to find something. Again, I have no doubt that the truck will handle the load, but in the event that we are involved in an accident or happen to get checked, I certainly do not want to be over weight.

We are figuring the weight as follows. The boat is 12k pounds and the shipping weight on the trailer was 5900 pounds. Now add fuel to the boat (up to 400 gallons), all of the gear in the boat, the gear in the trailer boxes and water in the wash down tanks on the trailer. That puts us well over 17,200lbs. We also want to add a cover girl type cabin to the boat this coming winter, which will add just a little more weight down the road.

Granted, the boat won't always be full of fuel and the water tanks won't always be full, but the one time that it is loaded down, even if just from the gas station to the ramp, will be the time that the little old lady runs into it. To me, being overloaded is just not worth the risk.

Call me paranoid, but I know first hand that sh*t can happen. Here are a few pictures that remind me how things can go wrong. These pics are from 2002, when the old lady hit the Gladiator. We were making a right hand turn and she ran into the back of the trailer. The scary thing is that she told the Troppers that she "never saw it." Even though the accident was not my fault, the Troopers still went over my rig to be sure that everything was in order. They measured everything and even weighed it with the portable scales because they did not believe the registered trailer weight. I told them that the boat was carbon fiber/kevlar and built really light for racing, but they did not believe me so they weighed it. Luckily, all of my weights were legit and everything was legal, so I walked away from the accident without any problems from the police. If the rig wasn't legal though, I have no doubt that they would have fined me for everything possible even though the collision was not my fault.

Wow, what a long rambling answer to a simple question, huh? To answer your question directly, I don't know yet.

jtmiller02

"never saw it" thats a line made famous by people who drive through tobacco barns after drinking a little too much

JnT

What does a truck like that Peterbilt cost?

JPD Motorsports

Hot Duck, check with www.truckpaper.com and the peterbilt site, along with www.payloadmagazine.com www.westernhauler.com hope these help and the pete store is on my way in to town drive by every day so will stop in and see what they have out here in horse country for ya, and will be in dallas this weekend as well by the pete store so will peek there as well.

paraspinaldocs

What they said about nocdl for rec. use is also true here in Michigan. I have a Gmc 450 with a versa hauler package.It does a great job but I am also thinking of moving up to a big rig or toterhome(?).Any way if anyone is looking let me know.Only about 4,000 miles on it.Im towing the Nor-Tech 50 cat. Good luck on your new rig.

dlbCheckmate

Take a look at the rig Aqua Toy store has, not sure of the price but it looks pretty sweet. Add says they will separate it from the boat (color us gone)

THEJOKER

I just bought a 2004 Chevrolet C75. Trust me you need to take a look at the new Chevy's. I drove them all - Int - Ford - Pete and the Chevy won in all categories. I'm using my truck for my trucking business but you can get the cab for any application. Options are Jake Brake - power everything. It's under CDL 25,950 and has air brakes. Here in Ga you have to get take the air brake test but CDL is not required - BH

Hot Duck

JnT: For a comfortably equipped crew cab I have found them as low as 55K, but they can become as expensive as your mind can imagine.

Hard On: Thank you. I appreciate the help.

dlbCheckmate: I have called them about that truck and they have it listed at 96k, but they did say they had a little room to play. That truck was evidently made by Cowboy Cadillac. So, I contacted them to price out a new one. For another 8-10K you can get a brand new truck instead of a 3 year old truck that you will have to paint to get rid of the old name and graphics. Of course, depending on what kind of deal they can put together and how much they can play with the numbers, this truck is still a fairly strong possibility. I actually talked to them about it again today. We are still feeling out all of the options.

boot

The term ''CDL'' is exactly that , "COMERCIAL" DRIVERS LISCENCE . COmercial meaning it is for hire as in ,used for a buisness. The NON comercial liscence is also a special liscence . It is not comercial but is basicaly the same thing. I have a full size kenworth I am building a motor home out of and I am not required to have a CDL for that either , and that is registered for 60,000 ! NON cdl just means ,you are NOT for hire .
Check out all the big Nascar rigs . Most of them were registered as RV's so they didn't have to stop at scales and such . But since they are actualy a corperate team ,they are technicaly comercial and are suposed to be registered that way . Also the RV insurance is nothing compared to comercial. My KW would cost about $8,000 -$10,000 per year comercial , but only about $600 as an RV !

PS. That "triple cab" pete is nice . They ride great and lots of room for friends ! Those trucks will range anywhere from about $60k to $120k depending on how it is set up . It kind of sucks when you could buy a full size for the same money ....... But the "toys" always cost more .........

boot

Also , MAke sure you get air ride !!! Not only on the back but see if they will do it on the front . Most will have it on the back only . And in stock form they will ride ruff even with the standard air . IF you want it to ride real nice you need "ping pong tanks" .That is an extra set of air tanks hooked to the air bags so the air can compress more and ride nicer . Thats what all the big busses and custom coaches use to float down the road . I just got the extra rear tank for my KW and I am going next week to check out the front air ride system . Makes a BIG difference ...